Should Cardiff City cash in on star keeper David Marshall? Scott Johnson says YES and Terry Phillips says NO

After Cardiff City brought young keeper Charlie Horton into their squad today, our writers look at whether they should cash in on David Marshall, at the right price. Scott Johnson says YES and Terry Phillips says NO.

In terms of Cardiff’s chances of returning to the top flight, he is nigh on priceless. But in football, everyone has a price and Marshall’s appears to range from around £8m, up to as much as £15m.

For some sort of context, Keylor Navas, the ‘David Marshall of the World Cup,’ has emerged as a fully formed star and was largely responsible for Costa Rica’s impressive performance. Although seasoned La Liga watchers will point out that he has been in impressive form for Levante for quite some time now.

He is seemingly available for around £8m, about the same price being touted for Celtic’s Fraser Forster.

With a big contract behind him, that sounds about right for Marshall too, who is not in the same class as David De Gea, who cost Manchester United around twice that amount.

Marshall appears to be content at the club, who insist no offers have yet been received, but if an offer around the £10m mark should materialise, there is a number of reasons why they should accept it.

Firstly, the club has mountains of debt and a large proportion of any money raised from the sales of Marshall, Gary Medel or Steven Caulker should go towards serving that debt.

Also, Marshall deserves another shot at the Premier League. Cardiff afforded him the opportunity to excel at the highest level and he certainly grasped it. At 29, this may be his last chance of a big move.

Watch: David Marshall makes a wonder save against Villa

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The most important factor is that Marshall is not irreplaceable.

As impressive as his recent performances have been, his five years at the club have not always been of this standard. A couple of seasons ago, there were plenty of fans who felt Tom Heaton should have been first choice. Maybe he has now turned a corner, or maybe he is a few clangers away from the more erratic player he was a few years ago. Only time will tell.

If he were to leave, there are plenty of talented goalkeepers littered throughout the Championship, available for a fraction of the money Cardiff would receive for Marshall.

Keep at all costs - Terry Phillips

David Marshall is a major player in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plans to take Cardiff City back to the top flight and must not be allowed to move on.

The Glasgow-born stopper is under contract until 2018 and, crucially, he isn’t pushing to go. Indeed, during two chats I’ve had with Marshall he has made it clear both he and his family love life in South Wales. They want to stay.

He has never been the type of player to agitate about moving on. Marshall has committed to Cardiff and says he would love to be part of a team which regains the club’s place at Premier League level.

Chairman Mehmet Dalman and manager Solskjaer are the key men on Cardiff City transfers. Dalman is the go-to man in terms of bids - and he talks with Solskjaer at least once a day.

Owner Vincent Tan is also kept up-to-date with every move and there is no pressure to sell any player.

All three men know that if Cardiff accepted Southampton’s bid of £8m - the highest so far - they would have to spend the vast majority of that on a top quality replacement.

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Should Cardiff City sell David Marshall?

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Selling Marshall doesn’t make sense for Cardiff. He wants to stay, the Bluebirds want him to stay and they wouldn’t make any significant money from allowing him to move on.

The lure of Premier League football and a big jump in salary would most certainly be a plus for the player, but if Marshall was number two at a Premier League club that would surely damage his international chances.

Spurs have shown interest, but they have now tied Hugo Lloris to a five-year contract and that effectively rules Tottenham out. Arsenal have also shown interest, while Southampton are leading the way.

The Saints were a real force last season, but the loss of manager Mauricio Pochettino plus star players looks likely to mean they won’t have the same impact again and if he did move to the South coast Marshall would find himself facing another barrage of shots.

Marshall was magnificent last season, facing more shots than any other Premier League keeper and deservedly voted Cardiff City player of the year.

He loved playing at the top level and wants to get back there with Cardiff. As things stand Marshall is staying and it will take a massive offer to change that situation.

I watched Marshall training at the Vale of Glamorgan Resort earlier this week. His position with Cardiff is clear. He’s number one - and it’s clear Solskjaer, Tan and Dalman will resist any and every effort to take him away.

I expect Marshall to be Cardiff City’s starting goalkeeper at Blackburn Rovers on Friday, August 8.